Plumbing
Key lessons:
- Saddle Values Suck
- Need to add a tap in the middle of a pipe instead of at the end? You need a slip end fitting.
- 1/2" push fittings go on easy. 3/4" -- not so much
- Like many other industries, plumbing has lots of standards. Learn the connection types before going to Lowe's.
- No matter how well you think you've planned, you will make a minimum of three trips to Lowe's for any home/tank improvement project.
- Threaded fittings need Plumber's tape. Lots of it.
- Don't use plumber's tape with compression fittings. Compression fittings > threaded fittings for that reason.
- Flare, sweat and slip values are just for real plumbers.
One reason I chose to start a tank is that my unfinished basement is the perfect place. There's almost no natural light. The concrete floor is impervious to salt water and has a drain. The pipes run right over where I wanted the tank.
All I needed was to tap them. Simple, right?
Mostly simple, thanks to
the push fitting. Push fittings are pieces of pipe that you can push on to the cut end of another pipe. They often include things like shut-off valves or tees. They're dirt simple to use. No soldering. No leaks.
The Plan:
- Put a real plumber on speed-dial just in case.
- Cut the pipe with a copper tube cutter.
- Install a Push/Push/Thread T.
- Screw a quarter-turn value onto the T.
- Screw a Thread/Barb coupling on that.
- Put a hose onto the other end of the quarter-turn valve.
This may seem straightforward, but it took me hours of pacing the plumbing aisle to figure out the exact combination of fittings and couplings that were in stock and would work.
Prelude to The Plan (a.k.a. Murphy's Law):
That wasn't actually my original plan. First I just went shopping and asked the plumbing guy at the hardware store. Perhaps he was a plumber put out of work by push fittings or something, but he steered my away from them and towards a saddle value. "Won't 1/4" pipe take a long time to fill a 120g aquarium," I asked? But he assured me it would be fine. (I don't believe him). When I got home, I discovered that there was already an unused saddle value on my cold water pipe, so I just had to puncture my hot water.
It went poorly. The handle to the saddle value broke -- AFTER my pipe was punctured. Back to Lowe's.
The Execution:
So I go to buy the parts for the plan above. The problem was that my cold water pipe is 3/4" but my hot water pipe is only 1/2". The 3/4"
Push/Push/Thread T works great, but they don't seem to make one in 1/2". They do have a
push/push/push T though. And a
1/2" push to 3/4" threaded adapter.
Now I just needed some pipe to connect the two. It turns out that not all 1/2" copper pipe is the same. The 5' pieces labeled 1/2" were slightly too big for the 1/2" push fitting. Luckily they sold 1' lengths of copper pipe that fit perfectly. I can't remember what they labeled the short lengths of pipe, but make sure you check that your fitting actually fits you pipe before leaving the store.
When I get home, I cut out a small section of my hot water pipe that includes the puncture I made with the saddle valve. I install the slip end push fitting and other 1/2" stuff. I turn my water back on. No leaks the first time. I fill a bucket. Still no leaks. And all before the wife gits home and scolds me (rightfully so) for leaving her with no water. Phew!
O'Toole's Corollary
On to the cold water. The second time's always easier, right?
When I cut my hot water pipe, I actually had to cut it twice because I didn't cut out enough the first time. I was determined not to make that mistake again. Instead, I made the opposite mistake, which is worse. I cut out too much, so my
Push/Push/Thread T wasn't big enough to span the gap. Back to Lowe's again.
Luckily I was only off by a bit. I made another cut in the pipe a foot or so down and used a
straight-through slip end push coupling to extend the pipe. Between the two slip end push couplings I had enough length to repair the pipe. Problem solved? Almost.
A slip end fitting works by pushing it on as far as it will go, then using the removal tool (picture below) to pull it back off while slipping the other end of the coupling onto the other part of the cut pipe. The 1/2" slip end push fitting slipped right on just like it should. The 3/4" wouldn't slip off for anything. I ended up rigging my
bar clamp between the push fitting removal tool and a stud on the ceiling to get enough pressure to make it work. If I didn't have the stud to work with I might have had to call a real plumber.
I screwed on my quarter-turn value, turned on the water and...quickly turned it back off. The push fittings were both fine, but the quarter turn value leaked like a sieve.
I added new plumber's tape. I made sure it was the correct direction. I wrapped it a full 6 times around the threads. Same results. I did this a few more times. I used more tape each time. I cranked the valve as tight as I could. I prayed I would't break the pipe with my plumber's wrench. Each time the leak got smaller, but it was still dripping. Finally on the 5th or 6th time it didn't leak. I turned it on. No leak. I left it for half an hour. No leak. Hurray! I hate threaded fittings.
Here's the finished product, complete with hoses. Note the second straight-through push fitting on the cold water pipe (top center/right). That's the one I didn't really need (or wouldn't have if I'd cut the right length out of the cold water pipe the first time).
Stay Tuned for the next episode on electrical.
(Which I actually did first as you can see in the picture.)
